''Showboat Branson Belle'' is a

riverboat A riverboat is a watercraft designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury un ...

—more specifically, a

showboat A showboat, or show boat, was a floating theater that traveled along the waterways of the United States, especially along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, to bring culture and entertainment to the inhabitants of river frontiers. Showboats were a ...

—on

Table Rock Lake Table Rock Lake is an artificial lake or reservoir in the Ozarks of southwestern Missouri and northwestern Arkansas in the United States. Designed, built and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the lake is impounded by Table Rock Dam ...

near

Branson, Missouri Branson is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. Most of the city is situated in Taney County, with a small portion in the west extending into Stone County. Branson is in the Ozark Mountains. The community was named after Reuben Branson, postma ...

. The

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

is landlocked by the

Table Rock Dam Table may refer to: * Table (furniture), a piece of furniture with a flat surface and one or more legs * Table (landform), a flat area of land * Table (information), a data arrangement with rows and columns * Table (database), how the table data ...

on one side and the

Beaver Lake Dam The Beaver Lake Dam, in Admiralty Island National Monument near Angoon, Alaska, is a Civilian Conservation Corps-built structure that was built in 1936. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. It was designed as part o ...

on the other side. Being a showboat, it hosts lunch and dinner shows throughout the year.

Construction and launch

The boat was constructed at its port at White River Landing and was launched on August 12, 1994. The boat was launched into Table Rock Lake at a speed of on launching rails lubricated with two tons of

bananas A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

. The bananas were used for

lubrication Lubrication is the process or technique of using a lubricant to reduce friction and wear and tear in a contact between two surfaces. The study of lubrication is a discipline in the field of tribology. Lubrication mechanisms such as fluid-lubric ...

because they were

biodegradable Biodegradation is the breakdown of organic matter by microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi. It is generally assumed to be a natural process, which differentiates it from composting. Composting is a human-driven process in which biodegradati ...

and would not have polluted Table Rock Lake as grease would have. The boat is claimed by its owner to be the largest ship on a landlocked lake in the United States.

Incidents

Branson Belle run aground on poverty point-12Dec2010

On December 11, 2010, due to high winds that had come up suddenly, the ''Showboat Branson Belle'' ran aground while cruising on Table Rock Lake. The incident stranded 567 passengers and 76 crew members overnight.

References

External links

Showboat Branson Belle's Homepage Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Showboat Branson Belle 1994 ships Maritime incidents in 2010 Missouri-related ships Passenger ships of the United States Riverboats Tourist attractions in Stone County, Missouri Tourist attractions in Taney County, Missouri Herschend Family Entertainment Branson, Missouri